Samsung big event at Berlin’s IFA show announces a slew of new products:

Galaxy Gear Smart Watch

After an early reveal of the Gear on the wrists of Icona Pop singers in New York, Samsung CEO J.K. Shin unveiled the real thing here in the Tempodrom event venue, in front of what we’re told told is an audience of 2,500 people.

The device’s specifications are somewhat less exciting than what was rumored: a 1.63-inch, 320 x 320 pixel Super AMOLED screen, a 1.9-megapixel camera (placed on the wristband), an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage.

If you’re wondering what that camera could be used for, here’s an idea: Memographer. It’s a feature that lets users record photos and videos on the go and share them on social networks. Yes, that doesn’t sound too revolutionary, but the fact that you can do it from your wrist — without pulling the phone from your pocket — makes it a bit more useful.

Gear supports voice operation, letting the user conduct hands-free calls directly from the watch. You can also control music played on a Samsung Galaxy device, and it has a built-in pedometer which can be used to track physical activity.

Samsung calls Galaxy Gear the “perfect companion for the Galaxy Note 3.” This wording is not accidental — the Gear will ship with the Note 3 and is fully compatible with it. Samsung doesn’t go into details on compatibility with other devices, but claims the Gear will be compatible with the Galaxy range.

Finally, there are the third-party apps — Samsung has 70 partners at launch, including RunKeeper, Tripit, Evernote, Vivino, eBay and Path.

Six colors will be available at launch: Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green.

Galaxy Gear will become available on Sept. 25 worldwide (in more than 140 countries, Samsung claims) for the price of $299.

Galaxy Note 3

Samsung Also unveiled the third generation of its big-screen Note smartphone line, the Galaxy Note 3, at events in New York City’s Times Square and Berlin on Wednesday.

In evolving the Note line, Samsung says it’s attempted to make the phone “slimmer, lighter, faster, larger and better.” In addition to a larger screen with a “warm, textured” design, the Note 3 includes a new security system called Knox, which lets sensitive apps and data run in a protected environment called the “container.”

At 5.7 inches, the Note’s AMOLED display is bigger than previous generations, but its width isn’t any larger than the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung says. It weighs 5.9 ounces. It has a soft, leather-like exterior with “premium look and feel.” It comes in three colors: jet black, classic white and blush pink. Customers can also buy optional covers in up to 10 colors. Samsung is also offering a folding cover with a “window” in front that leaves part of the screen visible.

The Note’s signature feature, the S Pen stylus, gets an upgrade as well. When the user hovers the S Pen over the screen, a circle appears: Tapping on the screen and clicking the pen’s button will reveal a semi-circular menu Samsung calls Air Command. The menu has several functions, including Scrapbook, which lets users save any content onscreen by marking it with a circle via the S Pen. S Finder lets users search for content on their device, taking written symbols into account.

Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition

It’s not just about the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear smart watch. Samsung also unveiled a new Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition tablet at its IFA event in Berlin.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition is just 7.9 millimeters thick. Samsung hails it as “the ultimate productivity device.” As with other Galaxy Note devices, we expect that the Note 10.1 2014 Edition will make extensive use of the S-Pen.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition will launch in 149 countries on also on September 25.